Serena Williams Match Point is the title, and it comes courtesy of Gatorade. The game, which can be played on ESPN’s Snapchat Discovery channel and on desktop, sees players take control of its eponymous star, playing their way through her 22 Grand Slam match points.
An extra level will be made available on September 10 if Williams makes history by wining the U.S. Open, which would see her overtake Steffi Graf to reach the record for most Major wins by a tennis player (male or female) in the Open Era.
The game itself is a throwback 8-bit title that comes complete with its own Chiptune-style soundtrack. Players must take on Williams’ opponents at the various Grand Slams during the game-winning match point. The minimal controls allow players to simply smash the ball back and forth against an AI challenger.
Tennis fever is currently running high on Snapchat, which has also launched a U.S. Open channel to mark the start of the championship. Williams comes into the tournament off the back of an Olympics upset that saw her crash out in the third round. Her opening round match will see her take on 2014 semi-finalist Ekaterina Makarova on Tuesday. Williams is also currently in the running to break Graf’s 186-week record stint atop the tennis rankings, which again is tied to her winning the U.S. Open trophy. No pressure then.
Gatorade has stepped up its marketing efforts on Snapchat. Aside from Serena Williams Match Point, the energy drink maker is also sponsoring the app’s live sports filters for high school football games.
